INTRODUCTION
It is well noted that sleep has an important effect on the growth and development of a child. Yet, sleep disorders are common in children from infancy through adolescence.(1-3) Sleeping habits and patterns should be detected by parents, and pediatricians prudently to avoid possible adverse effects on general health.(4)Sleeping habits may vary from resistance to bedtime, delayed and fragmented sleep to inability to sleep alone. These are all associated with the socio-cultural, physical, emotional and neurological development.(5,6)
In order to identify sleeping habits of a child many techniques and instruments and questionnaires are available. The Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) is a parent-proxy valid and reliable instrument that investigates children’s sleep habits and sleep-related difficulties.(7)
Sleeping disorders are defined mainly as the dyssomnia and parasomnia according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD).(8) Dyssomnia defines inadequate, excessive or poor quality of sleep whereas parasomnia indicates behavioral problems that occur in sleep such as sleep apnea, sleep terror, sleepwalking, enuresis and bruxism. (3)
Exacerbated nocturnal bruxism may lead to an imbalance in the stomatognathic system. This may cause heterogeneous musculoskeletal disorders, including temporomandibular joint and/or related structures in the long term. The perception of discomfort leads to the prevention of stability in the stomatognathic system with the presence of dysfunction. (9-11) This chronic disorder and fatigue is a condition that affects quality of life and sleep negatively. Hence early diagnosis and follow ups are crucial. Notably, child bruxers are reported to have fragmented sleep which affects the sleep quality adversely.(12-14) One other factor that can affect sleeping pattern is dental caries which can also lead to awakening from sleep at nights. A cohort study revealed that late bed time was associated with dental caries incidence as well.(15)Like chain reaction, poor sleep quality impacts the attention level and motor skills. This might increase the frequency of dental trauma incidence.(16,17) Considering sleep problems are common in the pediatric population, its potential relation with bruxism, tmd, tdi and dental caries are in scope of researchers’ interest. Therefore, the aim of this study was evaluate the possible association between sleeping habits, bruxism, temporomandibular disorders (TMD), traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and dental caries through CSHQ in children aged between 6-13 years.